Jim Parsonshttp://www.adweek.com/taxonomy/term/20114/all
enIntel Brings Back #PhelpsFace in New Spots Starring Jim Parsons and Michael Phelpshttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/intel-brings-back-phelpsface-new-spots-starring-jim-parsons-and-michael-phelps-173990
Christine Birkner<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/2016_Oct/phelps-face-intel-hed-2016.png"> <p>
For a hot minute during the Rio Olympics, the #PhelpsFace meme, born from <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/usa-swimmings-cmo-talks-phelpsface-katie-ledecky-and-lilly-king-172916" target="_blank">Michael Phelps&#39; scowling reaction</a> to a rival swimmer&#39;s pre-race shadowboxing routine, was all the rage. The meme is resurfacing in new spots from Intel that star the Olympic champ and Intel spokesperson Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory.</p>
<p>
The ads from mcgarrybowen and Intel&#39;s Agency Inside highlight the speed of Intel&#39;s technology, with Phelps making that famous face while watching race footage on a slow computer.</p>
<p>
The ad was inspired by real-life Olympics footage, said Steve Fund, CMO of Intel. &quot;We saw an image of Michael watching himself swimming during the Olympics on this very dated computer,&quot; he said. &quot;We immediately came up with the idea of, it&#39;s the world&#39;s fastest swimmer on the world&#39;s slowest computer. #PhelpsFace was one of these magical moments that really stuck out in all the broadcasts of the Olympics. We were thinking, &#39;How can we catch lighting in a bottle about that moment and do it in a fun way?&#39;&quot;</p>
<p>
In the ads, which debut next week, Parsons makes fun of Phelps for watching footage on the slow PC, saying, &quot;You have a new world record for the slowest computer,&quot; and pointing out that Intel&#39;s technology is faster.</p>
<p>
Now-retired Phelps, who also appeared in <a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/michael-phelps-returns-one-last-swim-under-armours-haunting-new-ad-170054" target="_blank">powerful ads for Under Armour</a> leading up to the games, was an ideal spokesperson for Intel on the heels of his Rio success as the most medal-winning Olympian of all time. &quot;It&#39;s capitalizing on the moment, and his popularity and visibility, and it keeps our brand fresh and relevant,&quot; Fund added.</p>
<p>
Intel was named one of <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news-gallery/advertising-branding/adweek-announces-winners-2016-brand-genius-awards-173037" target="_blank">Adweek&#39;s 2016 Brand Genius</a> winners in part for its <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/intel-hopes-new-spot-will-shake-millennials-their-malaise-168998" target="_blank">&quot;Experience Amazing&quot; rebranding effort</a> this year, which showcased the role of Intel technology in DreamWorks animation and NASA&#39;s Space Shuttle. The new spots are an extension of that, Fund said. &quot;It&#39;s all about trying to connect our technology with the experience it delivers.&quot;</p>
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Advertising & BrandingIntelJim ParsonsMichael PhelpsWed, 12 Oct 2016 15:01:01 +0000173990 at http://www.adweek.comJim Parsons Gets to Be His Lovable, Geeky Self for Intel in His First Big Endorsementhttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/why-big-bangs-sheldon-cooper-excited-about-intel-161590
Noreen O'Leary<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/intel_jim_parsons.png"> <p>
Earlier this fall, Intel marketing execs were visiting their <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/mcgarrybowen-new-york-takes-lead-intel-160796" target="_blank">new agency,</a> mcgarrybowen, when they noticed a copy of Adweek <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/jim-parsons-hits-stratosphere-159809" target="_blank">featuring </a>The Big Bang Theory&#39;s Jim Parsons on the cover. That chance encounter planted the creative seeds for the agency&#39;s first campaign for the semiconductor manufacturer, which breaks Monday.</p>
<p>
The fourth-quarter push focuses on Intel&#39;s new technologies and products, emphasizing the company&#39;s new 3D camera technology, RealSense.&nbsp;</p>
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<img class="fancyzoom" data-fancybox-src="/files/imagecache/w1200/parsons-cover-01-2014.jpg" src="/files/imagecache/test-width/parsons-cover-01-2014.jpg" /></div>
<p>
Intel invited mcgarrybowen&#39;s creative teams to its corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., to see the new technology, which is easier to understand in person than explained from afar. There was the&nbsp;creative challenge: how to communicate a technology consumers need to see to believe. The agency decided to tap a high-profile celeb to bring the technology to life in an approachable, easily understood way.</p>
<p>
Mcgarrybowen looked at more than 60 celebrities before selecting Parsons, whose quirky, smart persona dovetailed with Intel&#39;s positioning. Aside from bringing his huge popularity with millennials as the uber-nerd Sheldon Cooper on Big Bang, Parsons brought fresh endorsement value: This is his first alignment with a major brand.</p>
<p>
&quot;Jim&#39;s enthusiasm was so genuine and real,&quot; said Marianne Besch, executive creative director, mcgarrybowen. &quot;When he actually saw the technology he became the embodiment of it.&quot;</p>
<p>
In the mcgarrybowen spot, Parsons gains entry into a restricted Intel access area where he samples the new technology, only to be escorted out by a guard who warns him not to tell anyone about it. Just as you&#39;d expect from Sheldon Cooper, Parsons starts blabbing to the first person he meets.</p>
<p>
The campaign is also the first under new Intel chief marketing officer Steve Fund, formerly of retailer Staples, and who <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/staples-leaves-mccann-after-9-years-149845" target="_blank">worked</a> with mcgarrybowen previously. The effort centers around five TV ads that will run through Dec. 28, but they will have broader reach through YouTube with five videos that include outakes from the Parsons&#39; shoot.</p>
<p>
&quot;This is the beginning of repositioning the brand,&quot; explained Teresa Herd, vp, director of creative development and production, Intel. &quot;Before it was largely about Intel-inspired devices. While our chips are extremely important, we want people to knowthat we are innovating in so many new areas.&quot;</p>
<p>
Additional digital work includes 35 pieces of social content that were created for platforms like Vine, Twitter and Facebook. Spending behind the campaign was not revealed. Last year, Intel spent more than $85 million in media, according to Kantar Media.</p>
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Advertising & BrandingAdsCampaignIntelJim ParsonsMcgarrybowenThe Big Bang TheoryFri, 21 Nov 2014 11:00:02 +0000161590 at http://www.adweek.comBehind the Scenes: Jim Parsons Poses for Adweek's Cover [Video]http://www.adweek.com/video/television/behind-scenes-jim-parsons-poses-adweeks-cover-video-159825
<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/1126101268_3763119815001_video-still-for-video-3758187139001_1.jpg"> <p>
Right now, most TV actors wish <a href="/node/159809">they were Jim Parsons,</a> and for good reason.</p>
<p>
He just won his fourth Emmy Award for best comedic actor for his role as Sheldon on CBS&#39;s The Big Bang Theory. But America&#39;s favorite nerd isn&#39;t just witty punch lines and jokes, as we saw with his dramatic performance in the HBO&#39;s The Normal Heart.</p>
<p>
Amid this whirlwind of success, Parsons took time to pose for Adweek&#39;s cover this week. We asked him how he felt when he read the first script for The Big Bang Theory&mdash;and what types of ads and commercials resonate with him.</p>
<p>
<em>Video directed by Jeremy&nbsp;Goldberg.</em></p>
TelevisionAdweek OriginalBehind the ScenesJim ParsonsNetworksRatingsSheldon CooperThe Big Bang TheoryThe Normal HeartTue, 02 Sep 2014 17:51:35 +0000159825 at http://www.adweek.comJim Parsons Hits the Stratospherehttp://www.adweek.com/news/television/jim-parsons-hits-stratosphere-159809
Sam Thielman<p>
Honestly, if this keeps up, they&rsquo;re just going to have to rename the Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Comedy the Jim Parsons Award. Last week, the 41-year-old won the prize for a fourth time for his role as Sheldon Cooper, main character on CBS&rsquo; <a href="/node/156261">The Big Bang Theory</a>. It was a busy August for Parsons. Two weeks earlier, he and his cast mates Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting signed a three-year deal with the show for $1 million per episode each, and more than one observer suggested CBS should be happy to pay so little. (Big Bang returns for Season 8 on Sept. 22.)</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: left;margin: 15px 0px 15px 0px;">
<img class="fancyzoom" data-fancybox-src="/files/imagecache/w1200/jimparsons-hed-04-2014.jpg" src="/files/imagecache/node-blog/jimparsons-hed-04-2014.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
Jim Parsons was photographed Aug. 27 by Randall Slavin on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles. <span class="meta-credit"> </span></p>
</div>
<p>
Parsons in particular is worth it. The sitcom is the most-watched show on broadcast, averaging a 6.2 rating in the dollar demo (the next-most popular show gets a 4.4). It&rsquo;s also an incredibly valuable rerun, bringing in $2 million per episode for studio Warner Bros. Domestic TV. In many ways, it&rsquo;s the swan song of the multicamera, laugh-track comedy era, with Parsons&rsquo; Sheldon at its center.</p>
<p>
Parsons, an accomplished stage actor, took time between seasons to play Tommy Boatwright in a revival of Larry Kramer&rsquo;s groundbreaking autobiographical play about the AIDS crisis, The Normal Heart, in 2011, and then again in 2013 to reprise the role for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZxR9XHS0H8" target="_blank">Ryan Murphy&rsquo;s adaptation for HBO</a>.</p>
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<p>
Over the phone, Parsons is warm and deferential, discussing his career successes the way you&rsquo;d talk about finding a $50 bill on the ground. But it&rsquo;s clear after a moment or two of conversation that he&rsquo;s also a guy who takes nothing for granted.</p>
<p>
<strong>Adweek: You started your career on the stage, and you&rsquo;ve come back to New York to work in The Normal Heart on Broadway in between seasons. Do you miss that part of your career?</strong><br />
<strong>Parsons:</strong> Yes, without a doubt. Not because I&rsquo;m currently left wanting for anything, but that will always be home, artistically speaking, and I think that&rsquo;s true for a lot of actors. It&rsquo;s such a beautifully brutal training ground. One of the things I&rsquo;m always reminded of when I&rsquo;m back on stage is how much you have to be aware of, and in control of. There is no tight shot. There is no &ldquo;we&rsquo;re only shoulders-up this time.&rdquo; No, from the top of your head to your pinky toe, you&rsquo;re telegraphing part of the story the entire time you&rsquo;re up there. The theater I got to do informs every move I make as an actor and will for the rest of my life. I can&rsquo;t shake it if I wanted to, but I don&rsquo;t want to.</p>
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<p>
<em>Video directed by Jeremy Goldberg</em></p>
<p>
<strong>Has the enormity of the show&rsquo;s success changed your day-to-day life?</strong><br />
Even after [the show&rsquo;s popularity grew], it was more of a fact on paper. And in some ways it still is, if I want to be honest about it. Do more people recognize me, or any of us, in the street? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But some of that had started to happen in Season 1. The numbers are just a figure you read, and it&rsquo;s kind of inconceivable. I don&rsquo;t know that it will never not be inconceivable because I can&rsquo;t count that high.<br />
<br />
<strong>As the show&rsquo;s gotten bigger, you&rsquo;ve been adopted by more than one community. Rather than say &ldquo;Hey, do you want to be a spokesman for, you know, Pepsi and we&rsquo;ll pay you X?&rdquo; people say, &ldquo;You are now the spokesman for Asperger&rsquo;s.&rdquo; How do you deal with that?</strong><br />
Asperger&rsquo;s came up as a question within the first few episodes. I got asked about it by a reporter, and I had heard of it, but I didn&rsquo;t know what it was, specifically. So I asked the writers&mdash;I said, &ldquo;They&rsquo;re asking me if Sheldon has Asperger&rsquo;s,&rdquo; and they were like, &ldquo;No.&rdquo; And I said, &ldquo;OK.&rdquo; And I went back and I said, &ldquo;No.&rdquo; And then I read some about it and I went, OK, well, if the writers say he doesn&rsquo;t, then he doesn&rsquo;t, but he certainly shares some qualities with those who do. I like the way it&rsquo;s handled.</p>
<p>
<strong>It normalizes something that&rsquo;s difficult and comes with a real stigma for many people.</strong><br />
That comes up very much with gay issues, too. And being part of that community, one of the things I&rsquo;ve always said is that it&rsquo;s nice when you see gay characters as normal people; what&rsquo;s even better is when it&rsquo;s not even worth remarking about. This is who this person is; he&rsquo;s just another human.&nbsp;</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: left;margin: 15px 0px 15px 0px;">
<img src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/jimparsons-hed-01-2014.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
<span class="meta-credit">Photos: Randall Slavin; Styling: David Thomas/Opus Beauty; Grooming: Daniele Piersons/exclusive artists using Baxter of California.</span></p>
</div>
<p>
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.broadway.com/shows/normal-heart/" target="_blank">The Normal Heart</a> seems like a very logical choice for you along those lines. Was it rough going so quickly into a Broadway play?</strong><br />
Because of my production schedule, I arrived in New York to start rehearsal in earnest about seven days before our first preview. A lot of it had to do with the pressure, but I&rsquo;ll never forget our first preview: It went fine. It was lovely. I had a great laugh line to end the scene, and I closed the door behind me and went offstage, and I burst into tears.</p>
<p>
That run of the play that summer ended up being one of the best artistic experiences of my life. It&rsquo;s a real lesson. You just have to speak up. You just have to say, &ldquo;I would like to do this,&rdquo; and it&rsquo;s amazing what people who listen can do for you.<br />
<br />
<strong>The run of that show and the subsequent production of the movie happened during a vital period in the gay rights movement, too.</strong><br />
During the filming of the movie, we were having a big extravaganza of a scene that we were filming, which was a big reenactment of the first Gay Men&rsquo;s Health Crisis fundraiser, and that was the day<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/06/26/195857796/supreme-court-strikes-down-defense-of-marriage-act" target="_blank"> DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act] was overturned</a>. And [Normal Heart&rsquo;s writer] Larry Kramer came to the set that day&mdash;it was just surreal. But equally surreal was the night during the Broadway production when New York legalized same-sex marriage, and we took our curtain call, and somebody kind of stopped us on our way offstage, and all the house lights came up, and we came back on stage and one of the producers said, &ldquo;Since I&rsquo;m sure all of you had your cellphones off during the production, you probably don&rsquo;t know yet that New York State just legalized same-sex marriage.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
And oh my God, was that chilling. Just the kismet of the moment, being there, but also the house lights shining on a Broadway theater filled up to the rafters with people cheering after having just finished that play, which Larry &hellip; You know, one of the things that keeps amazing me is that it&rsquo;s hard to hear Larry&rsquo;s story, The Normal Heart, and how it ends with that marriage in that hospital room. It&rsquo;s hard to hear it these days and realize what a radical plot point that was in the early/mid-&rsquo;80s. That wasn&rsquo;t rewritten in 2010 or 2013, no&mdash;that was the way he wanted that story to end way back then. And I don&rsquo;t know, credit&rsquo;s not the right word, but it keeps surprising me when I think, that&rsquo;s not now&mdash;he wrote that then. He was ahead of the curve.<br />
<br />
<strong>How do you go back to Big Bang after that?</strong></p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: right;margin: 15px 0px 15px 15px;">
<img class="fancyzoom" data-fancybox-src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/jimparsons-hed-02-2014.jpg" src="/files/imagecache/test-width/jimparsons-hed-02-2014.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
Emmy Winner Big Bang Theory |<br />
Photo:&nbsp;<span class="meta-credit">Michael Yarish/Warner Bros</span></p>
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<p>
Oddly, happily as hell. There is nothing more refreshing for the current, continuing TV job than to do any other acting job in the interim. I got to be somebody who likes other people, who wants to talk to other people, who can pick up on the subtle, human cues, who wants to touch other people, and who deals with the sick. I never get bored playing Sheldon. You get used to it&mdash;and that&rsquo;s good, too. You should; it can help to deepen things, but it&rsquo;s so nice to have a reminder of the remarkable character you&rsquo;ve been given a chance to inhabit. I mean, from the moment I read the pilot, that&rsquo;s what it was that was so attractive to me. I couldn&rsquo;t tell you a good, bad or ugly pilot just from reading it, but I can tell you a character I want to play. I did feel that with him from the beginning.</p>
<p>
God knows why. It probably does say something very odd about me psychologically. That guy? Really? Yeah, yeah I did. I liked the way he talked, and I still do.<br />
<br />
<strong>Just in terms of season renewals, 10 seasons is the pyramids as far as television longevity goes.</strong><br />
Especially in this day and age. TV is so diversified, and the good side of that is that there&rsquo;s so much work out there and there are so many risks being taken that you just would never have dreamed of seven years ago. If you&rsquo;d told me seven years ago, the same spring that I auditioned for the pilot of Big Bang, that I was also going in for a pilot for Netflix, I&rsquo;d have said, &ldquo;What the hell does that mean?&rdquo; Now we&rsquo;re talking about shows being done for Amazon. The flip side is that I think that might make it more financially difficult to keep things on the air for long. But I may just be basing that on old rules. The new rules are still writing themselves.</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: right;margin: 15px 0px 15px 15px;">
<img class="fancyzoom" data-fancybox-src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/jimparsons-hed-03-2014.jpg" src="/files/imagecache/test-width/jimparsons-hed-03-2014.jpg" />
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Emmy Nominee The Normal Heart | <span class="meta-credit"> Photo: JoJo Whilden</span></p>
</div>
<p>
&nbsp;<br />
<strong>The negotiation process was drawn out and high profile for this last renewal&mdash;what was that like?</strong><br />
I&rsquo;d certainly never done that before, and it&rsquo;s hard to imagine going through that again. There&rsquo;s no joy in going, &ldquo;OK, we&rsquo;re not starting.&rdquo; That was no fun. We enjoy doing this show. By the same token, I didn&rsquo;t have my head buried in the sand. I&rsquo;d heard of these things being done before, and it simply &hellip; it&rsquo;s weird, but it simply has to run its course and do what it does, and that&rsquo;s how I could finalize. And sure enough, we didn&rsquo;t stay out past that last date everyone was worried about. It was very clear on the part of everyone who works on the show, from the actors to the production crew, that everybody wanted to do it. There was no negativity as far as anyone saying, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m done with this anyway, so whatever.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
<strong>Are you on set?</strong><br />
Yeah, we shot two episodes&mdash;they always do two or three episodes in a row and then we&rsquo;ll take a week off. And they had blocked off way in advance the <a href="/node/159739">week of the Emmys</a>, in case we had to go.<br />
<br />
<strong>Well, at this point, I feel like they ought to block it off for next year, too.</strong><br />
You just never know.</p>
TelevisionCbsEmmysHboJim ParsonsLarry KramerMagazine ContentNetflixNetworksRyan MurphyThe Big Bang TheoryThe Normal HeartMon, 01 Sep 2014 23:44:10 +0000159809 at http://www.adweek.comBazinga! CBS Renews The Big Bang Theory Through 2016-17http://www.adweek.com/news/television/bazinga-cbs-renews-big-bang-theory-through-2016-17-156261
Anthony Crupi<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/big-bang-theory-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
Nerds rejoice: CBS has renewed The Big Bang Theory for another three years, ensuring that Leonard, Sheldon and the rest of the gang will be yukking it up through the 2016-17 broadcast TV season.</p>
<p>
The duration of the pickup is not a shocker; when CBS last renewed Big Bang in January 2011, it was for a three-season run.</p>
<p>
Now in its seventh season, Big Bang is broadcast&rsquo;s top-rated scripted series, averaging a 5.3 in the adults 18-49 demo, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day data. (The Walking Dead is far and away the highest-rated show on the tube, averaging a whopping 6.7 in the dollar demo through the first 13 episodes of its fourth season on AMC.)</p>
<p>
With massive deliveries of advertiser-friendly viewers comes premium unit costs. According to media buyers, the average price of a 30-second spot in Big Bang during the upfront was a cool $326,260, making the show <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/big-bang-theory-gets-highest-ad-rates-outside-nfl-153087" target="_blank">network TV&rsquo;s most valuable scripted real estate</a>.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;Comedy is a big part of our schedule, and The Big Bang Theory is the biggest comedy force on television,&rdquo; said Nina Tassler, chairman, CBS Entertainment, by way of announcing the renewal. &ldquo;This multiyear deal further strengthens our network&rsquo;s position for future seasons and marks another chapter in the great partnership CBS enjoys with Warner Bros. Television for delivering audiences the best in comedy.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
While Chuck Lorre&rsquo;s most successful show is locked in for the foreseeable future, negotiations with the Big Bang cast have yet to begin. According to TV Guide&rsquo;s annual salary survey, leads Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco currently earn around <a href="http://www.tvguide.com/news/tv-highest-paid-stars-1069334.aspx" target="_blank">$325,000 per episode</a>, but that figure is expected to soar to as much as $1 million a pop after the dust clears with Warner Bros. TV.</p>
<p>
Lorre&rsquo;s other extant CBS comedies are also expected to be renewed in some way, shape or form. Mike &amp; Molly is pulling its weight in the Monday 9 p.m. slot, and CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves last week gave the thumbs up to the freshman series Mom, which is averaging a 2.1 rating in the Monday 9:30 p.m. time slot (down 32 percent from the 3.1 its predecessor M&amp;M was delivering in the year-ago period).&nbsp;</p>
<p>
As for Two and a Half Men, CBS may consider bringing the show back for a final run of 13 episodes.</p>
<p>
Big Bang is likely to <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/moonves-big-bang-theory-will-move-accommodate-nfl-games-155710" target="_blank">debut in the Monday anchor slot</a> for the first six weeks of the 2014-15 season, making way for CBS&rsquo; big new acquisition, <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/nfl-win-cbs-lands-even-bigger-bang-155503" target="_blank">Thursday Night Football</a>.</p>
<p>
Speaking Tuesday at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet &amp; Telecom conference, Moonves told investors that he expects CBS to have just four new series on its fall prime-time lineup, with plans to launch a pair of freshman comedies and two new dramas. While that may seem like a short order, it&rsquo;s just one fewer show than CBS premiered this fall.</p>
Television2013-14 Broadcast TV SeasonAmcCbsChuck LorreJim ParsonsJohnny GaleckiKaley CuocoLes MoonvesMike & MollyMOMNerdvanaNetworksNina TasslerRatingsSportsThe Big Bang TheoryThe Walking DeadThursday Night FootballTwo and a Half MenWarner Bros. TelevisionWed, 12 Mar 2014 16:52:02 +0000156261 at http://www.adweek.com